4 Kickstarters That Can Help Us All Eat Greener for Earth Day

It’s Earth Day today, and thankfully a few people are out there trying to save the planet. If you didn't get a chance to plant a tree or physically remove several cars from the road, there's still time to give with your wallet. These projects could help us all eat greener in the future.

These folks from the Twin Cities are trying to scale up their mushroom growing operation from 100 lbs. a week to 500 lbs. a week, which should be enough to get them into local stores. What makes them particularly interesting is that they grow their fungi using compost made from waste generated by different local businesses—saw dust from contractors, spent grains from brewers, etc.

Outside Reno, Nevada these guys are trying to research ways to extend the growing season by up to 30%. They plan to do it with an aquaponics system—that’s when aquatic creatures live in the water source for plants and their waste is used to feed the grow beds. They will also have a peep (yes that’s the right word) of chickens inside their domed greenhouse, which will provide not only delicious eggs, but natural heat in the winter as well. If Project Grow Dome succeeds they say they’ll be able to provide local produce all year round and reduce the carbon footprint created by shipping it in from far away.

We learned about tower gardens at the TedX conference last month, and these are another very cool way to create an indoor garden for smaller urban spaces. These planters mount directly to your window and will allow you to keep a vibrant herb garden in your tiny studio apartment.

Everyone likes a good piece of jerky. Every single person there is. And these guys are making just that. Not only that but they are doing with meat sourced from 100% sustainable and antibiotic free farms. They also have designs on using all recycled materials in their packaging if they can get enough funding.